"... the days of mass and scale may be numbered, or at least are fundamentally changing. With that, many local media’s audience development and business models will be changing with them. “Vertical is the new horizontal.” “Niche is the new mass.”"

What distinguishes her is her practice of “Applied Futurism,” which translates her cultural trend insights into actionable business strategies to help her clients reposition established brands and develop new and innovative business models, products, and services.

Brian Steffens's insight:

"Don’t buy an ad. Put your brand’s belief into the culture. At Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve, we have a 4P model: People, Press, Products, and Places." Bold is my emphasis: the press is #2 on her list ... earned, not paid. Still in the media, but not in the usual way.

This week we have something special to share: research findings from Twipe’s very own Hannes Buseyne, AI & Software Engineer. He has created an AI algorithm to answer the question “Can AI Predict Reading Time Based on the Words in the Text?” Using a Linear Support Vector Machine algorithm, we are then able to determine[...]

"Journalism is at a crossroads, with challenges that include changing economics, a millennial audience that gets most of its content from mobile screens, and a hunger for authenticity and emotional nuance that has historically been missing in the more formal voice of the news."

Location attribution and measurement platform Placed is making its geo-data analytics platform, Placed Insights, available to the public for free — much like Zillow allows anyone to access real estate information on individual properties. Placed Insights has been a key part of Seattle-based location data provider since the tool was introduced in 2013. Placed, which was acquired by … Continue reading How Placed Wants To Do For Location Data What Zillow Has Done For Real Estate Info

Brian Steffens's insight:

This story is targeted at retail outlets and foot traffic, but aren't those very same retail outlets your customers, too? What might you learn about your local "places" that would make you a more trusted consultant? How might you use local foot traffic to surface news stories? As long as this remains free, it's worth experimenting with.

From an aesthetic point of view, Amazon’s web store is neither simple nor beautiful–two things we expect of good design. Instead, it focuses on simplicity of experience, process, and functionality.

Brian Steffens's insight:

"Amazon’s success brings into relief a principle that is sometimes hard to swallow in the design community: Successful design is not necessarily beautiful." What's missing in this conversation is the possibility of both ... simplicity of experience, process and functionality AND aesthetically pleasing design. I'm not convinced that the two principles are mutually exclusive.

A product feature that gained a foothold among business media is getting a look from consumer publishers.

Brian Steffens's insight:

"Bloomberg’s registration wall asks readers which industries and coverage they are most interested in, part of a broader push by Bloomberg Media to make its products more personalized and better target its ads."

It seems like everybody is starting a newsletter these days. (Guilty.) But there’s a good reason for that, of course. With so much news consumption coming through algorithmically based platforms such as Google and Facebook, newsletters are one of the few remaining ways to have an unmediated relationship with your readers. Newsletters are also one […]

Brian Steffens's insight:

Marty Steffens' Media Business Models class traveled to Seattle in February ... two of the stops had heavy emphasis on email newsletter strategies. The Seattle Times' effort is is updated here, and Crosscut's efforts were part of an RJI Fellowship last year: https://goo.gl/ZGHGQC

3 stats from a conversation with The New York Times and Greentech Media that prove the value in forging connections with your audience through newsletters.

Brian Steffens's insight:

"Opening a newsletter, even if it’s not personalized, is inherently personal; newsletters arrive at “my” email address and speak to “my” interests (that is, the good ones do). The curated experiences of newsletters can make them feel like they’re just for you."

Launched today, Lynx Insight was developed after a consultation with journalists and helps surface facts and newsworthy items from the newswire's data

Brian Steffens's insight:

"For Reuters, the future of automation in the newsroom is centred around tasks such as data-mining and gathering insights, which can then be presented to human journalists who can better contextualise and report on the findings."

Now, a decade later, that local news outlets realize they lack scale to rely on digital advertising, there are some interesting experiments and tests on subscription models. This is one of the latest ones to show promise.

The Snapchat-maker plans to release an upgraded version of its Spectacles glasses by the fall. And a more ambitious third generation product, which could cost more than double the original price at $300, is on the docket for next year.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.